ODESSA, Texas (April 13, 2025) – Backed by a strong starting pitching performance by Trevor Barth and a season-high three home runs from the offense, The University of Texas Permian Basin baseball team fell behind early but came back in a hurry with a six-run bottom of the third inning and was off and running from there en route to a 15-5 seven-inning victory over Oklahoma Christian University on Sunday afternoon on Roden Field.

Seven Falcons finished with two hits in this one. Taylor McDaniel (1-for-3, walk, hit by pitch) led the way with three runs scored while Wiki DeLeon (2-for-3, hit by pitch) had both a home run and a bases-clearing double and led the team with four runs batted in.

Barth (2-8) earned his second win in a row with six innings pitched allowing seven hits, four total runs, three earned runs, three walks and five strikeouts.

Five Oklahoma Christian pitchers combined to allow 15 runs on 15 hits to go along with six walks, four hit by pitches, four wild pitches and a balk.

OC started off the game with three straight singles against Barth to score the first run of the game, and then two more runs came in on a fielder's choice and an errant throw on a stolen base to make it a three-run top of the first inning for the Eagles.

Kaleb Scull promptly led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run to left field for UTPB, and then DeLeon hit his second solo home run in as many games with a two-out shot to right field in the bottom of the second, making it a 3-2 deficit.

It was the team-leading sixth home run of the season for both Scull and DeLeon, and was home runs number 24 and 25 for the Falcons this season, but would not be the last of the afternoon.

A leadoff bloop single on a golf-swing by the Eagles in the top of the third inning led to another error by the Falcons on a stolen base attempt and a run on a sacrifice fly to right field to make it 4-2.

The bottom of the third then saw the Falcons put together a big six-run inning. It all started with back-to-back walks and a hit by pitch to load the bases, all with one out, before Brent Rigtrup scored on a wild pitch. The third walk of the inning issued by the Eagles' starting pitcher, Evan Ballast, loaded the bases again and put an end to his day.

The new OC pitcher, Naut Kragt, was greeted with a first-pitch, three-run double down the right field line by DeLeon to give the Falcons their first lead of the day (6-4). Andrew Prado then swapped places with DeLeon by sending an RBI-double down the left field line.

Each of UTPB's first five runs in the third inning came with just one out, and then with two outs, Jack Haggerty went opposite field with an RBI-single to left field to add one more run and double up the score at 8-4.

A called strike three helped Barth strand two runners in scoring position in the top of the fourth just as the Eagles looked poised to try and make the game a barn burner in the middle innings, but instead a ground-rule double to left field by Makai DeSoto scored McDaniel to make it 9-4 Falcons in the bottom half.

A pair of RBI-singles up the middle by Carson Johnson (one out) and McDaniel (two outs) made it 11-4 in the fifth inning, and then DeSoto added his second RBI-hit scoring McDaniel in as many innings with a two-out single through the left side. The final run of what was a four-run fifth inning for UTPB came via an RBI-walk by Prado as the Falcons had 13 runs on 13 hits through five innings.

A nice catch by Scull on a lineout at shortstop was followed by a 4-6-3 groundball double play to end a scoreless top of the sixth inning for Barth, his third-straight scoreless frame.

UTPB's third home run of the day came courtesy of Johnson with a two-run blast to left center field, giving UTPB a double-digit lead (15-4) in the bottom of the sixth.

UTPB scored in all six of its offensive innings on Sunday to improve to 15-26 overall and 15-25 in the Lone Star Conference. The Falcons have won least two games in four of their last five series.

"It is always great to find a way to even a series after not playing well on a weekend," spoke UTPB's Head Baseball Coach Justin Phillips. "We had some really great spots on the weekend, but we just have to be able to play an entire weekend at home in front of our crowd. When we do that, we are a tough team to compete against."

Rigtrup led the Falcons in hitting for the second weekend in a row, hitting .545 (6-for-11) with a team-high four walks. Four others (DeLeon, McDaniel, Prado, Scull) hit at least .400. DeLeon finished the weekend with three extra-base hits (2 home runs, 1 double) and led the team with five RBI's and five runs scored.

Next up, the Falcons will begin their sixth and final Lone Star Conference road series of the season beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas.